Neil Humphreys
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Neil Humphreys is a British humour columnist and author of three best-selling humorous books about Singapore - Notes From an Even Smaller Island (2001), Scribbles from the Same Island (2003) and Final Notes from a Great Island (2006). The last of these - his latest book to date - was on Singapore's bestsellers list for several consecutive weeks, proving the popularity of his writings among Singaporeans.
Born and brought up in Dagenham, London, England, Humphreys arrived in Singapore in 1996 and had initially planned on staying in Singapore for only 3 months. However, he instantly fell in love with the island-state and decided to settle down there. Humphreys has always lived in Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats in Toa Payoh, a public housing estate in central Singapore, despite moving twice. Although he is a foreigner, he has chosen to assimilate himself into the Singapore culture through living in HDB flats, eating at local kopitiams and trying out many things that the locals do. He often pokes fun at Western expatriates working in Singapore by comparing their living habits with his own, criticising them for their aloofness from the local society and their extravagant lifestyles.
Humphreys has since migrated to Australia and resides in Geelong, a seaside town in the state of Victoria. He now works as a freelance writer, and writes regular columns in the sports and Life! sections of the Straits Times in Singapore. He has also written for The Age and his local paper in Geelong.
He recently said in a Straits Times column and on his website that he may be adapting his books into a Singapore movie, called Notes From An Expat and was working on the screenplay.
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[edit] Family life
Humphreys is currently married, although his wife keeps a low profile. However, Humphreys writes about his wife quite frequently in his columns and books, although he usually only refers to her as 'my wife' or 'the missus'. His second book, Scribbles from the Same Island, contains a reference to her actual name, Tracy.
Humphreys' mother now resides in Kent, England. In his writings, Humphreys' encounters with his mother are often memorable and usually done in an intentionally humorous manner. Most of the references to his mother are made while mentioning his early years spent growing up in Dagenham.
[edit] Early career
Humphreys spent the early part of his time in Singapore as a speech and drama teacher.
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[edit] Career with Today
Humphreys is a columnist with local newspaper Today, published by Mediacorp Press. He was also a contributor to the sports section of Today, mostly on news related to the English Premier League, as well as a contributor for the entertainment section, where his movie reviews were regularly published. He is best known for his humorous columns poking fun at various facets of life in Singapore. Through his columns, he also reveals snippets of his childhood in working-class London. He once said that he speaks with a Cockney accent. He has since stopped writing for Today and now writes for the Straits Times.
[edit] Books
[edit] Notes From an Even Smaller Island
Notes From an Even Smaller Island [1] was the first of three books published by Neil Humphreys. It details his experience of arriving in Singapore and adapting to the unique local culture of Singapore. After it was first published, it quickly rose to the top of Singapore's bestsellers list as the local Singaporeans could identify with his writings. It was after this book that he became well known and was subsequently hired by Today newspaper as a columnist. The title of the book is ostensibly a nodding reference to Bill Bryson's Notes from a Small Island, a travel book about Humphreys' native land, Britain.
[edit] Scribbles from the Same Island
Scribbles from the Same Island[2] is the second book published by Neil Humphreys. It is actually a collection of his weekly columns published while he was at Today. As the book was published in 2003, it only includes columns written by him before that. After the book was released under high expectations from the public, there was criticism that the material of the book was unoriginal as it was merely a compilation of his past columns. There were claims that this book was published to 'milk' the popularity gained from the publication of his first book. Nevertheless, the second book quickly rose up Singapore's bestsellers list as well.
[edit] Final Notes from a Great Island
Final Notes from a Great Island [3] is the final of the three books published by Neil Humphreys about Singapore before he migrated to Australia. In the book, which was meant to be a final, affectionate look at Singapore before he left, Humphreys takes an island-wide tour of Singapore where he explores the lesser-known side of Singapore. He started his tour from the HDB estate of Toa Payoh as that was where he had lived for the entire ten years that he spent in Singapore.
After the book was published, some readers used it as a guidebook and followed the route Humphreys took around Singapore.
[edit] Complete Notes From Singapore The Omnibus Edition
Complete Notes From Singapore The Omnibus Edition [4] brings together all three previous books with some updates. There is also a chapter on his life and experiences in Australia.
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[edit] Migration
When Final Notes from a Great Island was released in 2006, it became obvious that Neil Humphreys had decided on leaving Singapore. It was later revealed that he has decided to migrate to Australia with his wife. Humphreys explained the reason for his migration as having the 'travelling itch'. However, he has stated that he does not currently have any plans regarding what he would do in Australia.
Many people have written to Today after news of Humphreys's migration was announced, expressing their dismay at his decision to migrate to Australia. Many readers expressed heartfelt appreciation for his contributions to Today over the past few years. Sales of his books also jumped due to the publicity of his impending departure. He continues to contribute articles to the newspaper with a new focus on comparing Australian and Singapore lifestyle and cultures.
